I'm really quite impressed with what many of you have posted recently about preparing your families, so I wondered if I could pick your brains about it & a few questions come to mind...

* What exactly are you preparing for? Economic troubles, natural disasters...?
* What do you put in a 72-hour kit (links maybe?)
* How do you decide what foods to buy & do you expect to have any utilities available for preparing the foods?
* What about other issues like local transportation or self-defense?
* If you have any debt, how do your prioritized preparedness in your budget?

:popcorn

charla

02-27-2009, 10:43 AM

:popcorn

newday

02-27-2009, 10:47 AM

:popcorn

ArmsOfLove

02-27-2009, 11:03 AM

Well, I'm preparing because I see signs that things are going somewhere I do not want to be a part of. Whether it be needing to scrimping to pay our gas bill or our air conditioner or, especially, food. Dh and I believe we are too interdependant on the infrastructure of this country and are realizing how easily we can be failed by it. We are extracting ourselves from it :)

Mostly we're storing food--though we are expecting some money that will allow us to get a trailer to live in on some property friends have if we need to actually get out of the city :) Otherwise tents will do :shrug

Herbwifemama

02-27-2009, 11:12 AM

I'm preparing because it's something I've thought for a long time I needed to do, but I just never got around to it. :doh

Now, I'm preparing specifically for the unexpected. Like, a car kit in case the car dies and it's really cold out, or a power outage like what happened in the midwest a month or so ago- lots of people without power for weeks. Or any other natural disaster. Garden variety or otherwise.

I'm also preparing because the economy is terrible right now, and it's just prudent to store extra while we can in case something unexpected happens.

I'm also preparing for spiritual reasons, but honestly and truly, this is something I strongly believe I should be doing *anyway*. You know?

Prov 31:21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

One of my spiritual gifts is also hospitality, and I feel strongly about sharing with the needy in the most grass-roots kind of way, from my hand to theirs. So, I'm preparing for that too, if I have enough time. First, enough for our family, and then, enough to share.

I just realized I didn't answer all your questions:
* What do you put in a 72-hour kit (links maybe?)
I followed this basically to the letter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8zrkENy9QM&feature=channel_page
* How do you decide what foods to buy & do you expect to have any utilities available for preparing the foods?I am preparing to be completely independent of the power grid and pretty much everything else. For numerous reasons, but basically because I want to be ready for anything. I plan on buying the basic ingredients for all the foods we regularly enjoy- bread is high on the list, and other bread products like flatbreads and cookies, and such. And also for maximum nutrition and storability- so, wheat, barley, quinoa, but not rice because white rice isn't that nutritious and brown rice goes rancid too fast. And legumes to make a complete protein- lentils, black white pinto beans... And I'd like to can some meat too because we do best with some animal protein. And fat- coconut oil and butter can be stored for a long time (butter can be canned), and I'd like to start a garden and save seeds, but anything I've grown has never produced enough for us to be subsistent on. And if we had the space I'd like to have chickens and goats for eggs and milk. And I could probably live without ever butchering them, but I'd like to know how just in case. (Like if we had extra boy goats and chickens we couldnt' get rid of, we could have meat.) And heck, while I'm dreaming, I'd like a root cellar to store stuff in and an extra space in there for us all to live for a minimum of a month if we had to protect ourselves from a nuclear attack.
* What about other issues like local transportation or self-defense? I don't plan on needing transportation when it's all said and done, and as for defense- well, that's a tough issue- guns scare me. But I do think it's important to be able to defend ourselves. But I'm taking care of survival first, and dealing with self defense second.
* If you have any debt, how do your prioritized preparedness in your budget? We are in a small amount of credit card debt, but we've decided to bite the bullet and use our savings to pay it off. I admit, with the 72 hour kits, I said, "we don't have enough budgeted but I'm doing them anyway"- but we did have enough in savings to cover it. And I asked for money for my own spending this Xmas, and decided to use it on EP supplies. And I think I posted a link in the most recent EP thread that shows a simple plan to store stuff that doesn't bust your budget.

Mama Calidad

02-27-2009, 11:24 AM

* What exactly are you preparing for? Economic troubles, natural disasters...?
Personally, economic troubles. I'm "betting" that well packed food will be a good long-term investment. :)

* What do you put in a 72-hour kit (links maybe?)
We don't have those.

* How do you decide what foods to buy & do you expect to have any utilities available for preparing the foods?
We're going with foods that store easily and that we eat regularly -- rice, beans, lentils, corn, etc. We've got chickens for eggs. A neighbor lady has a grove of orange trees and she already gives us her papayas, 'cause she doesn't like them. Yes, we would anticipate having utilities for cooking -- we have enough solar power to run the crock pot and we have trees that we already routinely use to trim branches for cooking.

* What about other issues like local transportation or self-defense?
We have discussed a couple horses. I've wanted a horse since I was a little girl. :giggle As for self-defense, my situation probably doesn't apply.

* If you have any debt, how do your prioritized preparedness in your budget?
N/A

Yes :yes And there are many biblical references to being prepared, especially Proverbs 31, like Herbwife quoted :heart

* What do you put in a 72-hour kit (links maybe?)

http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=216227.0

* How do you decide what foods to buy & do you expect to have any utilities available for preparing the foods?

Still working a lot on this and the more I learn the more I find very interesting. We have a bbq that we can use to prepare food if needed. I also want to learn more about solar ovens. The little can stoves are something I'm looking into also (they are very inexpensive.)

* What about other issues like local transportation or self-defense?

Very good question. As far as transportation, I don't let the car get below 1/2 a tank of gas and I want to keep enough money in the car to fill it up completely two times (just have to get the courage to store money in the car :shifty ) A couple horses would be nice though wouldn't they!

Self defense, that's the part I really don't like to think about.

* If you have any debt, how do your prioritized preparedness in your budget?

Slowly but surely. I just went to the grocery store today to try to finish up our 72 hour kits and it cost a lot more than what I anticipated (I did have to shop where there are no sales and high prices though. I think that it would be much better to have had a Wal-Mart available.) Even just little bits and pieces. Say you spend $3 on a can stove and $1 at the dollar store for an extra can opener, $2 for 4 cans of tuna, $2 for 4 cans of pop-top green beans, and $2 for a box of granola bars and there is a start to a 72 hour kit. Even purchasing one or a few extra things at a time while at the grocery store is pretty do-able and you don't notice the prices all at once.

KatieMae

02-27-2009, 01:17 PM

I understand what you all are saying about not wanting to think about the self-defense thing. But, in a dire situation, if you have food & your neighbor doesn't... :shrug So being prepared with supplies like that sort of makes you a bigger target & it's something that comes into my mind... like, if we ARE prepared, we need to keep it a secret :shifty

Herbwifemama

02-27-2009, 01:20 PM

:yes2

Yeah, that's something I"ve been thinking about. It IS important. And it's why I'm not really discussing EP with anyone outside of the internet. (I wonder how many people I know are preparing and not discussing it with me? :think)- I do talk to my parents about it, but I wouldn't turn them away anyway. These are hard questions I don't have answers to. I mean, even if you do want to help others, you can't help EVERYONE. :/

JoyGal

02-27-2009, 01:24 PM

I also wanted to add that one of the reasons I want to be strong and knowledgable in preparedness now, is because in the past, we have had to live off of our stores and supply others with the extra of what we had. I cannot even begin to praise our Lord enough for the provision during those times :heart :heart

JoyGal

02-27-2009, 01:26 PM

I also am interested in how others are planning on self defense. I feel horrible about looking at it as hiding food. At the same time, geesh, I just don't know how to tackle that aspect of it. There are a lot of issues that could come up...

Can'tTurnLeft

02-27-2009, 01:42 PM

Well we fully expect to open our food stores to anybody that may come to us hungry. And we fully believe that in our faithfulness God will do a miracle and increase our supply. I think scripture is clear that when someone comes to us and asks us for food we feed them. :shrug

newday

02-27-2009, 01:44 PM

I also am interested in how others are planning on self defense. I feel horrible about looking at it as hiding food. At the same time, geesh, I just don't know how to tackle that aspect of it. There are a lot of issues that could come up...

Although I wouldn't recommend this as THE perspective - it makes me think of God's provision for His people and how so many others befitted from that. I mean with Joseph and the 7 years of famine.

I

Can'tTurnLeft

02-27-2009, 01:59 PM

I'm really quite impressed with what many of you have posted recently about preparing your families, so I wondered if I could pick your brains about it & a few questions come to mind...

Well we fully expect to open our food stores to anybody that may come to us hungry. And we fully believe that in our faithfulness God will do a miracle and increase our supply. I think scripture is clear that when someone comes to us and asks us for food we feed them. :shrug

And I agree, but the whole neighborhood? What if you end up with constant stream of people at your door? Personally, food aside, I'm too private to be ok with that.

Can'tTurnLeft

02-27-2009, 02:15 PM

Well we fully expect to open our food stores to anybody that may come to us hungry. And we fully believe that in our faithfulness God will do a miracle and increase our supply. I think scripture is clear that when someone comes to us and asks us for food we feed them. :shrug

And I agree, but the whole neighborhood? What if you end up with constant stream of people at your door? Personally, food aside, I'm too private to be ok with that.

yes, anybody who comes to us hungry will be fed as long as we have the resources. If it is a constant stream praise God because he will provide.

Is. 58 10-11 (NIV) and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Herbwifemama

02-27-2009, 02:19 PM

Oh, I like that verse. :)

2sunshines

02-27-2009, 02:21 PM

My main reason to prepare and stock some food is personal economic disaster. With our economy being so unstable and our family relies on one income and that one income could be cut off at any time, I want to be as prepared as possible in case that happens. Have some basic provisions set up for our family. Which for us, includes food and saving as much money as we can.

Grover

02-28-2009, 04:53 AM

Great questions Katie -I was wondering the same things
Good to read the answers.Im still a little confused

Really, we're storing for rising food costs (like way rising like can't afford to buy it), or a natural disaster. Also, my DH works for our church and we live on church property, so I kind of have in the back of my mind people flocking to the church in a time of disaster and someone has to have a plan in mind. Although I'm not saving near enough to feed our whole church :wink

schmamy

02-28-2009, 09:19 AM

this is soooo overwhelming to me. :/ reading this thread totally makes me want to just bury my head in the sand and hope for the best :bag

thomer

02-28-2009, 09:25 AM

this is soooo overwhelming to me. :/ reading this thread totally makes me want to just bury my head in the sand and hope for the best :bag

Me too a little. Right now I'm doing 72 hour kits and trying not to think too much about long term. But I did decide to just buy an extra pack of TP every time I go shopping. :giggle You always need that.
Maybe you could just pick one thing and buy a whole ton until you feel youhave enough, then move on to something else.
It may not be the best way - butbetter than nothing : shrug

4MKfam

02-28-2009, 09:42 AM

We're in a weird place, because we've been kind of preparing over the last three years by killing our debt. It's gone now :dance, and we have a significant amount saved :phew, ...and then dh lost his job :rolleyes. So, That For Which We Were Preparing... happened. Only in a smaller way. As to food storage, I have maybe a month ahead on the staples. Kind of hard to do when we (were) living on a pretty low income to start with, and now it's unemployment with a few added odd jobs, so our way of life at this point is to buy nothing that isn't necessary to life, and strictly budget that which is. Not much else we can do :shrug. Our only luxuries at this point are internet and cable (which are bundled with our phone, and at this point, we can afford it). The thing that stinks --we worked SO, so hard to get here, and now that we are, we can't celebrate like we'd hoped (by having a little more discretionary income and doing the little things we've cut out for years), other than being thankful that we prepared.

jenny_islander

02-28-2009, 11:28 AM

I'm really quite impressed with what many of you have posted recently about preparing your families, so I wondered if I could pick your brains about it & a few questions come to mind...

Recently active volcano on the mainland deciding to really erupt. Tsunami (we're always thinking about that; the last one removed all of downtown). DH's hours or pay being cut. One of us getting very sick, or at least too sick to shop.

* What do you put in a 72-hour kit (links maybe?)

Go to the Making Light blog at nielsen hayden dot com and look for posts by Jim McDonald, an EMT who also writes about disaster preparedness. He has links and suggestions for bugout bags. (Much of the content of the blog is of the "Isn't it funny that some people still need God? We know what really makes it rain, so what's the point of telling the story about the Old Man in the Sky anymore?" variety, so hold on to your temper. Most posters are civil, however.)

* How do you decide what foods to buy & do you expect to have any utilities available for preparing the foods?

Things we already eat, at the best price we can get: canned soup, canned salmon, barley, beans, dried fruit, canned tomatoes, etc. Container size is limited by the amount of storage space. I'll be cooking on the woodstove, so that also affects what I buy.

* What about other issues like local transportation or self-defense?

Our best chance for survival if something big happens to the whole town is to get communal. We know our neighbors and are careful to stay on good terms with them, so if we need to make stone soup together, we can do so. We don't have bikes; luckily, we can walk nearly everywhere we need to go. If the tranny drops out of the car and we need to go fishing 15 miles away or what have you, we can make a deal with somebody who does have a working car.

* If you have any debt, how do your prioritized preparedness in your budget?

Our debt amounts to a small mortgage on our house and land--less than most people pay for rent--and a few hundred dollars on my credit card. We just dropped our cable package for some extra savings. We are preparing bit by bit, adding a little bit onto each week's grocery bill.